Don't Try My Patience
by diditelluiluvu
Summary: He has always hated him. Sulk, smirk, repeat. Always the same. But when a parasitic alien infects a member of Torchwood, Owen finds himself having to save the one person he would pick last to aid. An action that, much to his surprise, starts to change how he sees a certain teaboy. Rated M for sexual content but not a smut-centric fic.
1. Prologue

**Title: **Don't Try My Patience**  
Fandom: **Torchwood**  
Rating: **M  
**Pairings: **Ianto/Owen. References to Ianto/Jack.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Torchwood. It belongs to RTD and the BBC (and, I suppose, Starz). No infringement intended.

**AN: **Okay I've started writing this at 4:13 AM on a complete whim so it might be horrible. If it is let me know. I did not plan this I'm just going to start writing and see where it takes me. Because there's not nearly enough Ianto/Owen in the world. No BETA.

**IF YOU ARE ONLY LOOKING FOR SMUT GO TO CHAPTER 8 but there's not much of it. **

* * *

He didn't belong here. He just showed up one day out of the blue. Jack hadn't explained why he was there, how he got the job, or what the hell was up with the suit. He just wandered in. Owen didn't like him, he never did. Tosh and he had been working there for years and Ianto just showed. Hell, even Suzie had been around for a while. They all had to learn the ropes and even though they never spoke about it, they all knew that each other had gone through something terrible. It was all in the eyes.

Ianto never looked at him in the eye. So Owen never saw it. All of his secrets came pouring out in a dangerous fray and after that there was nothing else to hide. He now understood why Ianto was qualified, working for Torchwood One and all that, but he sill had no right to be there. Obviously he wasn't very good at whatever job he had at the old Torchwood to have ended up a butler. Hell, even Gwen, who had absolutely nothing in the ways of tragedy compared to the rest of them, was hired for a reason.

He didn't like the way he sulked about. He didn't like the way he had to add in little quips about anything. It's like the only time he ever had anything to say was when he was being contrary or thinking he was clever. He didn't like his suits, how he looked so clean-cut when inside he was still a dirty traitor. Why Jack had kept him on the team after what had happened he would never know. It wasn't like he had a vital and irreplaceable position.

That's probably how he came to the conclusion they were shagging. Nobody else seemed to have picked up on it. But as a doctor and more importantly a lover of sex, he knew how to pick up on tension. He wondered if maybe that's how Ianto got the job too. Deep down, everyone's a whore.

It was on days like today when Ianto was especially bothersome. Like a dog that has a way of getting inevitably underfoot. He was always in the way.

"Do you mind?" Owen finally said, glaring up at Ianto from the medical area. He was lurking about, watching Owen from the railing above, just staring. Occasionally he would walk away a bit, just as not to arouse suspicion, but kept coming back.

"Mind?" Ianto leaned forward onto the railing, his arms crossing on the bar.

"You've been stalking about up there for the past half hour. Haven't you got anything better to do?" Owen scoffed, waving his scalpel about.

"Not really. I was just wondering if you'd realized you've been cutting into the wrong leg." Ianto shrugged his shoulders a bit. An effect that, given Ianto's current stance, made it look more like his neck was shrinking into his collar than his shoulders going up. Like a troll.

Owen looked down at the corpse. No wonder he hadn't found the parasite yet. He'd been digging through flesh and bone for a half hour on the wrong limb. Worse than that, he had allowed Ianto to make a fool of him. Worser still, he'd been right.

"You couldn't bother to mention that on one of your nine other strolls into here?" Owen decided that the pissed-off route was the easiest way to go.

"I think it's funny you were counting." Ianto smirked. Owen hated that smirk. The cleverer-than-thou expression plastered on his face constantly.

"Bugger off." Owen waved him away and began to work at the other leg. Ianto walked off, back into the Hub as Owen continued his task, simmering with annoyance.

* * *

A few minutes later, Owen had successfully extracted the parasite and contained it. Just one more of these little pricks left in the whole city. After that, there'd be no more rifling through people he couldn't save. Not people. Bodies. It was easier when you called them bodies. Well, at least, until the next case. The work was never through at Torchwood.

Everyone was getting ready to go home for the night. Owen was still cleaning up the medical bay, disinfecting the instruments, and taking care of the now mutilated body. He looked up to see Jack descending the staircase.

"All set here, Owen?" Jack traipsed around examining the shelves.

"Yup. Here she is." Owen pulled from his coat pocket the vial containing the recently extracted alien. It was tiny and silver, almost transparent, and looked a bit like a cross between a fish and an insect.

"Good work. Leave it by the computer; I'll take care of it." Jack began to exit the circular hollow.

"Did you find the last one yet?" Owen asked passively. Jack turned, one foot a step up, and sighed briefly.

"We're still looking. They're hard to track. We think it's somewhere in the pipes so it keeps moving around." He continued his walk up. "See you tomorrow."

Owen finished up the last of his cleaning, washed his hands, and exited the Hub. He was always disconcerted at times like this. He tried not to show it but it bothered him that the threat could be anywhere, could be anything, and no one would even know.

* * *

It was always a long walk back to the flat. Ianto preferred to walk if possible. It made him feel better to know that he could be more aware of his surroundings. It was a touch of the real world outside Torchwood. The chavs on the streets, the cars going by, the smell of rain, it all seemed somehow exciting. With such an obscure and dangerous life sometimes the normal seemed new.

But with a job like his, he was also hyperaware of the monsters in the dark. And that made the walk longer too.

He reached his flat, changed into his pyjamas and set for bed. Pouring a glass of water, he took his anxiety medicine. He reckoned it didn't work much anyway, what with all the drugs in the air at Torchwood. Many times, he didn't take it, wishing to think that any feeling he had should be conquered by his own mind. But there were days when that just wasn't enough, when the memories would come so fresh and brutal, and he succumbed to the easy way out.

He drank more, failing to notice the miniscule, iridescent insect swimming in the glass, and fell asleep shortly after.

* * *

**More to come, of course.**


	2. Why Him?

**AN: Thanks for reading. hopefully I'll continue to please you.**

* * *

He hadn't felt right all day. He would have said it was his stomach but he had no trouble eating. If anything, he was extremely hungry. It was a kind of weakness throughout his body and it wasn't getting better. Ianto didn't dare ask to go home though, not with the team out on a mission. Someone had to watch the Hub.

As the day went on, the weakness was accompanied by pain. It came in short, stabbing bursts and made him keel over. The day ticked on. In the late afternoon, the team finally returned. They burst in, laughing about something unimportant. Ianto was in Jack's office, trying to find some kind of medicine, alien tech, anything that would lessen the pain.

"Hey Ianto," Jack called up into his office as he ascended the stairs. "Any word on that parasite?" Of course. The parasite. That's what he was supposed to be doing. Tracking the parasite. It all seemed unimportant now...

Jack entered to find Ianto leaning over his desk, struggling to breathe. "Hey, you okay?" Ianto tried to turn his head to look at Jack and was racked with another round of pain that sent him falling to the floor, screaming.

"Owen! Get in here now!" Jack rushed over to Ianto who now thrashing wildly on the floor. He tried to hold him down, for fear he might hurt himself. Owen arrived in a matter of seconds.

"Bloody hell. What's the matter with him?" Owen came closer to kneel by Jack. He cast an examining eye on Ianto, and his face sank. "Jack, I've got to operate on him. He's exhibiting the same signs as the previous parasite victims. Help me get him down to the medical bay." Owen grabbed one of Ianto's arms. The latter yelled in protest and glared at Owen and Jack as they tried to carry him downstairs. The pain was only getting worse and this wasn't helping.

"Oh god. Ianto?" Gwen hurried down to meet them as they tried to strap Ianto down. Tosh soon followed, carrying a specific device, trying not to panic. Gwen was attempting to console Ianto as Jack yelled at Tosh.

"Can you find it?" Jack gritted his teeth at her.

"It keeps moving!" Tosh was shaking a bit. Out of all the people on the team, why did it have to be Ianto? They were like partners in invisibility. She didn't want to be alone. "It's in his right arm, near the wrist. It seems to have settled there for now but be quick."

Owen was hurrying about, trying to grab the necessary tools. Of all the stupid gits in Wales to get landed with a parasite, why did it have to be Ianto? Still, he told himself it was just another patient. Another person he couldn't save if he didn't hurry. Ianto wasn't drugged, but there was no time for that. He dug out a sharp surgical knife.

"If you put that anywhere near me-" Ianto began to protest.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you feel like getting eaten alive? I think a little cut's much better, don't you?" Owen rolled his eyes. He held Ianto's arm down harder and made the first cut, deep enough that he could see layers of striated muscle splaying out like walls around the knife.

Ianto was in such combined pain now that he could do nothing but breathe heavily, his mind not functioning properly enough to protest anymore.

"Ianto, it's going to be okay, alright? It's almost over." Gwen was trying to stay calm but he could hear the tremor in her voice. She was scared and somehow she knew how much this was hurting him. Owen cut again. Ianto was reduced to a whimpering child. It took another two cuts before Owen could properly locate and reach the alien. He extracted it with small tongs and bottled it quickly, not allowing to to scamper away. It flicked about inside the jar before crumpling up, devoid of nourishment.

Owen turned back to Ianto, who was panting and in a state of shock. Gwen was running a hand over his hair, trying to calm him. His arm was a bloodied mess. Owen set about finding what he could to salvage it. Tosh looked relieved but still affected. If they had been any later from their trip...

Jack patted Owen on the back. "Good work. That's the last of them, right?"

"Right." Owen stared at Jack for a moment, not able to understand how he could seem so unshaken by all of this.

"Good. Try to help him okay? I'll be back." Jack ran upstairs to his office and sat down with his head in his hands. He had been so close to seeing another person die. How many people that he cared about did he have to see tortured? How many more would he see die in his long life? He took a moment longer to indulge in the sorrow of his thoughts. But like he always did, he snapped back into a leader's stance, wiping all care and subjective thought from his mind. He had to. It was the only way to get through the continual loss. This time, he hadn't lost. Let the team think him heartless. He had to be the solid one. Who else would be?

As he made his way back to the medical bay, he saw that Ianto had fallen unconscious and Owen was feeding vital nutrients back into his system through an IV. His arm was bandaged up now, but it was still bleeding through the gauze. It would be a long time before anything that bad would heal.

"Any word, Doctor Harper?" Jack looked on, hands in pockets. Owen turned, cocking his head slightly as he always did before a dissertation.

"He's in bad shape. He's gonna have to be hooked up for at least a day more and that arm could take months to heal. If you have any sort of... extraterrestrial means I could probably-"

"No." Jack interrupted. "We don't use our tech for our own purposes. How many times do I have to remind you of that?"

"But this could-"

"I don't care. It'll heal just like any other person's. We don't get to glorify ourselves." Jack stood by his standards. It wasn't life threatening. It would be fine. What he would give to be wounded, to feel human and heal like a human.

"Well, someone's gonna have to watch him then. He can't be left unattended." Owen regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. Even more so when he saw that grin cross Jack's face. It reminded him too much of Ianto's arrogant smirk. They really were a great match weren't they? That is, if Owen believed he even cared about Ianto outside of their fucking. Especially now, how he'd brushed off his near-death so easily.

"Thanks for volunteering." Jack exited the medical bay. As he walked away he called back, "Maybe I'll let you nap tomorrow. It's going to be a long night."

Owen could still hear the grin in his voice. He rolled his eyes and pulled up a chair next to Ianto. Even in his sleep, Owen could imagine the lines of his smirk were still etched on his face. It was like where one's smugness ended, the other's began. He would never escape those mocking looks from either of them. Of all the people to end up with for the night, why did it have to be the glorified coffeeboy? There was only one way this could go, and it wasn't good.

Jack was right about one thing. It was going to be a very long night.

* * *

**Stay tuned. Next chapter, things may get angsty.**


	3. The Long Night Begins

**AN: Thanks for the reivews, guys! Especially for the guest who submitted their note. That was just stupid on my part. **

* * *

Bored.

Unbelievably so. Ianto still hadn't woken up yet and Owen had practically nothing to do but muck about on his phone. He tried to keep it objective. This is a patient. He would watch any other patient. But it was just so irritating. The clock ticked on. Owen decided the best option would be to have a drink. It was a silent activity. He knew Jack was probably still in the Hub somewhere since he doubted that Jack had a real flat. He didn't want to make any noise that would arouse suspicion. God forbid anyone at Torchwood wasn't doing their job even though Jack seemed to do the least work. Damn, was he good at giving orders though.

It was 3:00 AM and his judgement was a little off to begin with. He popped open a bottle and drank. What was Jack's deal anyway? Why leave him to watch Ianto when he could have very easily just have done it himself? It's not like he had anything else to do in the middle of the night. He must have known it would piss Owen off. That's the only logical explanation for it. Was this payback for what had happened with Diane? Was he mad that he had let her go? It's not like he did the best job of taking care of John either.

It was 3:30 now, and Ianto was stirring. Owen put down his almost empty bottle and watched him. He was tempted to just wake him up, ask him if he needed anything and knock him back out again. He was an eerily quiet sleeper. It was nice to have it be so silent in the Hub for once. None of Gwen's constant questions, Tosh's techno-babble, Jack's stream of innuendos or commands, and least of all, Ianto's quips.

Another five minutes or so passed before Ianto opened his eyes.

"There we are, Rip Van Winkle. Decided we were gonna face the world?" Owen took another swig and stared Ianto down. The alcohol was impairing his thoughts a bit. Perhaps if he glared _really_ hard, he could get him to drift back off.

"If your face is the world I'd rather stay sleeping, thanks." Ianto said. He looked down at his arm and winced a bit. "Exactly how many drugs have you got me on right now?"

"Five or six. That's one hell of a wound you've got." Owen got up and paced around the bay. Maybe if he kept circling him, he would get dizzy and knock out again. He stopped to grab another drink, which was already waiting for him on a shelf. He had figured he would need a few.

"Lovely." Ianto sat up laboriously. "Is it really wise to keep beverages by medical equipment, I wonder?" Ianto eyed him suspiciously. Was he really qualified to be a Doctor if he was doing such careless things?

"Fuck off." Owen cast him a sideways glance that said about the same thing as he had uttered and drank again. "To be honest," Owen leaned in towards Ianto. "I really couldn't care less about watching you right now. Just because your little fuck-buddy had me sit out here all night doesn't mean I have to behave."

Ianto grimaced at the scent of the alcohol on Owen's breath. Luckily, the latter backed off. Owen waited for some kind of response. Some kind of clever remark. Anything to give him an excuse to slug him out. None came. No matter, he could work with that too.

"Did I strike a nerve? Was it the not caring or the fuck-buddy comment? Hmm?" He sat back down. "You're not fooling anyone you know. We all know why you didn't get fired. Well, maybe not all of us, but I do." He scooched his chair in closer.

"I think that beer is impairing your thinking." Ianto lay back down. He could punch him right now if his good arm wasn't all spliced up. That and the fact that he prided himself on being the bigger person. Sometimes though...

"I don't think so." He look up. "Well, maybe a bit. But not about this. I can see it. So what was it, did you you beg him? Did you tell him he could shag you rotten he let you stay? Or did he offer it, the horny bastard? What was it, teaboy? Did-" Before he could finish his sentence Ianto had landed a punch on his face. It wasn't a particularly good one, given that it was with his left hand and he wasn't the most skilled at fighting. There was only so much that he could take though. After months of dealing with Owen's shit, he'd had enough. Owen looked up with hatred in his eyes. But Ianto was satisfied and simply stared back.

"Are you quite finished?" He asked.

Owen straightened his head and smiled. That was all he needed. Get that damned farcical butler persona to fall away. This was Ianto; furious, traitorous, submissive, and vulnerable. He saw Ianto as the man he had looked like like when they had found those cannibals in the countryside. Suit off and simply normal. He was no better than any of them despite what he seemed to believe.

"I think I am." Owen found himself smirking. He knew why Ianto carried that same smirk now. It was the smirk of someone who could knock down another person with only their words.

"Good." Ianto lay down again. "Are you even going to bother to check my arm?"

"I suppose I should." Owen loosened the bandages and examined the wound. The tension in the room was dissipating. It was almost as if they were on the same level now. Ianto knew that Owen had gotten the better of him as much as Owen did. He disinfected the area again and was about to put on new bandages when an idea came to him. "You know, Jack's not really looking."

"Sorry?" Ianto looked puzzled. Owen began to rifle through the shelves. He found a small vial of unlabeled liquid. Without another word, he poured it into the cuts. It burned, but not worse than today's previous pain had. So Ianto endured. In a few moments, much of the wound had closed up.

"Jack doesn't want me using alien medicine but I think you need to get back to doing what ever job you do a little sooner. I want my coffee." Owen bandaged Ianto's arm and disposed of the vial. "Under those, he'll never know how good or bad the healing is going." He reassumed his seat near Ianto, dragging the chair away a bit.

"Why are you doing this?" Ianto furrowed his brow.

"Doing what?" Owen asked in genuine confusion.

"Actually helping. It's new for you."

"I pull my weight around here as much as anyone else." Owen spat back.

"Oh yes, I'm sure proclaiming people dead is a lot of work." Ianto rolled his eyes.

"I do a hell of a lot more than that." Owen's recent high was faltering. "I saved your life for one thing." He returned to his bottle. How much longer until daylight?

"You weren't very graceful about it." Ianto waved his arm at Owen, reminding him of the gory mess he had caused.

"You know, this might be the most I've ever heard you speak and you still manage to say so little of importance. Do your clever remarks make you feel better about yourself?" At this rate, Ianto was going to have to punch him again. He was amazed at how quickly he had gone back to his old self. Of course, it was a well-practiced persona.

"Why, do your prat insults help _you_?" Owen saw it happen almost in slow motion. He knew it was coming. The inflection was always the same before it. The smirk started curling up.

"Wipe that stupid smile off your face." Owen gritted his teeth.

"Why don't you make me, doctor?" It was a moment of pure immaturity. Another show of Ianto's inner self. But this had a much inverse affect on Owen. Maybe it was the fact that that look was still plastered on his face. It didn't make him feel any higher up, any better than Ianto the way that punch did. But it was doing something else.

A look passed between them.

Maybe it was the drugs in Ianto's system.

Maybe it was the booze in Owen's.

But before either could figure out what had happened, Owen crashed into Ianto and made his lips do something other than smirk.

* * *

**R&R**


	4. Out of Tune

**AN: M****ost of this is taken from the episode "Captain Jack Harkness." The dialogue is not mine, I've simply reinterpreted the narration to suit my story. And surprisingly, it fits quite well.**

* * *

Ianto pushed Owen away with his good arm. He didn't say anything. Owen knew that he had stepped in it. What was he thinking? He glanced at the bottle on the floor next to him. That was it. Just the alcohol. He had to play it off.

"Well, it did make you stop smirking." He cast Ianto a downwards glance.

"You're a bastard." Ianto's voice lowered significantly. Awkward tension was radiating through the room. Owen found himself scampering off. Anything to get away from the air in there. He took a walk around the Hub, trying not think about what had just happened. It was obvious from Ianto's comment that he thought Owen was just trying to bait him. If he thought nothing of it, neither would Owen. Then why did it keep bothering him?

By the time he returned to the medical bay, Ianto was asleep again, or at least he appeared to be. Owen replenished his IV. He checked the clock. 4:30. It would be at least another hour before Jack woke up. One hour, that was all, before he could let himself sleep. But time was moving so slowly again. He found bits of things to do, cleaning up supplies, checking his records for nothing in particular. Then rechecking.

5:00. Ianto was still asleep. Owen opened up his bandage again. The alien medicine was working so quickly. Within less than 24 hours that arm would heal completely. Let Jack pester him for it. He'd done the right thing.

* * *

At 5:45 Jack came into the bay.

"How's he doing?" He asked, taking typical Jack stance; hands in pockets, feet planted.

"I gave him alien medicine and in a couple of hours his arm should be right as rain." Owen knew better than to try to hide his actions. Especially if Jack was as... acquainted with Ianto's body as Owen suspected. He'd notice.

"Alien medicine?" Jack lowered his gaze to burn into Owen although the rest of his face remained relatively placid. "One day, that's gonna bite you in the ass, Owen. I'd think that by now you'd have learned to follow instructions." He straightened up a bit. "But seeing as you've gotten a Torchwood operative back into working order I'm going to try to overlook it."

Owen exhaled. For whatever reason, he always got away with things like this. Jack liked to play the father.

"Jack, I'm sodding tired. I've been up watching your teaboy all night." Maybe he shouldn't have asked so soon, but his eyelids were unbearably heavy and the booze was weighing them down further.

"Take a nap or something. I'm going to investigate something with Tosh. But if there's trouble, you'd had better hop to. This isn't a day off." Jack stalked off in a particularly Jackish gait.

Finally.

Owen took one last look at Ianto before heading upstairs to the couch. He curled up and found himself drifting off within a matter of minutes.

* * *

He was awoken by a what sounded like an alarm clock. He stirred, turning his head with blurred eyes to find Ianto standing by the computers.

"What the hell is that?"

Ianto sighed briefly. Brilliant. The prat awakens. He turned to confirm that he wasn't just imagining his voice. Surely nothing could sound that much like nails on a chalkboard

"Tosh's rift monitor program. She set it to alert me if there were any further movements." Owen stiffly swung his legs around the couch. "The rift's been opening more and more recently." Ianto couldn't mask his concern. As if their jobs weren't hard enough.

Owen smelled his breath, scoffed at it. How much had me really drank last night? Surely he had only had one or two bottles... But maybe it was more... He couldn't remember much about what had happened.

"Yeah well I've noticed that. Don't take a genuis." Owen got off the couch to stand by Ianto. Ianto repressed an snippy remark, seeing where that had gotten him last time, but stated his next comment a bit more forcefully, as if to highlight how little he cared about Owen's remarks.

"Tosh reckons the equations are forming some sort of pattern." Ianto stared more intently at the screen. Anywhere but at Owen. But the latter made a point of standing right next to him. He was rubbing his neck, he must have slept on it funny. "We should call her." Ianto flicked a hand to his comm. "She may have readings on her end and it's a bit over my head." He looked at Owen, immediately regretting the last bit of his comment.

Owen closed his eyes in frustration. No shit it was over his head. What, did he think he could take charge just because Owen was out? "Umm, why wasn't _I_ told about this?" He crossed his arms. Ianto looked back at him, staring square in the eyes. His comment was clearly a jab, but his face and tone showed utter blankness in its delivery.

"Well, you've been off, haven't you?" He stared at him a second longer. There was a tension between them that Owen couldn't quite place. What had happened last night? He had the feeling Ianto knew something he didn't. There was a tension when their eyes met that was practically tangible, like tightening a violin string. Owen grunted and tilted his head as if a twist of the neck could work out the vexation.

"Line's dead." Ianto said. There was a moment of silence. Ianto tried contacting Gwen, sending her to where Tosh and Jack had last been. He explained what was happening and sent her off. During his call he had walked away from Owen, but he could still feel the doctor's eyes on him and it was driving him mad.

"Hey. I've got into Tosh's files." Owen was running scripts of code on the screen. Ianto hopped up to join him and now it was his turn to lurk over. "All of her files," Owen pointed at a specific line. "December the 24th." Owen exhaled. "That's when Diane flew through the rift." The memories came flooding back. It still hurt him. He remembered Ianto was in the room and tried to right the tone in his voice. but it escaped him. "And I had to let her go." He busied himself at the keyboard. Why had he said anything in front of Ianto?

"You were in love with her weren't you?" Ianto's tone was painfully genuine. In it Owen could hear the pain of someone who had also lost a lover. Who understood.

What was he thinking?

Owen straightened out his thoughts. This was Ianto. Smug Ianto. Ianto the coffeeboy. Ianto whose eyes bore into the back of Owen's head now as he typed. He realized he didn't have to lower himself to answer that question. He continued on but his voice was still gentle, his mind still swimming with the thoughts of Diane. His words kept escaping him.

"If Tosh knows a way of opening the rift, maybe we could get Diane back."

"Jack would never allow it. Opening the rift could devastate the city." Ianto's delivery was incredibly grave.

Owen remembered where he was again. That he was letting Ianto into his head. He looked quickly toward him and back again, choosing to walk away. In his mind, he was slowly resolving to go through with his thought. He said Jack would never allow it. Well, he'd never been one for doing what Jack allowed. When was it going to be time to do something for himself? But business came first.

Ianto suspected the worst and followed him.

* * *

Some time later, Owen had compiled and laid out information on the desk in the meeting room.

"Right, the Ritz dance hall. Opened in 1932, shut down in 1989 due to be demolished in one week. Now the music is from the 1940s. Why is a ghost job taking them this long?" While Owen was wasting time looking at papers, Ianto was clicking through information on the computer.

"All those young soldiers..." Ianto couldn't help being affected. Maybe it was because he had been there for a shorter amount of time, or because he had been at Canary wharf, but he seemed to care more about individual lives than the rest of them. Then he saw the photograph. "Owen. Look." The doctor joined him by the screen. "There." Ianto zoomed in on the picture. There was Jack and Tosh. Jack was shaking hands with a handsome soldier and looking puzzled. They were beginning to figure it out.

* * *

"Okay. So we use Tosh's information to open the rift and bring them back." Owen had scurried around to Ianto's side at the computers. He tried to hide his voice from sounding suspicious, but as Ianto turned to him, he knew that he was suspected. The violin string tightened more.

"We can't." Ianto paused awkwardly. He didn't want to sound like he was figuring Owen out "Half the equation's missing." He explained it away.

"Can't be." Owen was circling him again. "Must be somewhere else let me try." He grabbed Ianto's arm and shoved him away from the computer.

"It's not there!" Ianto insisted. Owen looked back at him again. He wasn't going to let this go. Ianto resorted to just going along with Owen's panic. The last thing he needed was a pissed off Owen. He had to at least try to be civil. He evened his voice. "It might be on the laptop." Nope. Too difficult. The sass snapped right back in. "Which she never goes anywhere without."

"Shit." There it goes his last chance to get Diane back... and maybe now Jack and Tosh. Damn it all if he ended up with no one but the glorified teaboy and his former shag. "SHIT!" He fumed. Staring at nothing.

* * *

Gwen was paging in.

"Anything your end?"

"There are no more photos of Jack and Tosh after that night... That's encouraging." Ianto couldn't help but feel a little worried. Owen looked at him through the office glass.

"Yeah, unless the bomb's gone." He said flatly. Ianto rolled his eyes and looked up. Well if one thing could be said for Owen it was that he knew how to make a bad feeling a lot worse.

"The manager. Bilis Manger kept them for posterity."

"Bilis Manger? That's the name of the caretaker."

"Can't be the same guy, can it?" Ianto questioned what he already knew to be true. Of course it was the same guy.

"Not old enough. Although... he does look a bit out of his time... He wears a cravat."

Ianto looked at the photo, compared it with Gwen's description. That confirmed it.

"Gwen, he's in the photo with Jack and Tosh." It was beginning to make sense. Owen heard them over the comms and rushed into the office.

"He's the answer. He's come for the rift, find out what he's doing."

"No, get out Gwen, wait for backup." Ianto snapped back. He saw where this was going. There was a power play in the works. He could feel that tension rising. The violin string getting ever tighter.

"We can't lose him." Owen struggled to reassert power, but Ianto's voice was so much more threatening. He wasn't going to have the lowest member of the team giving orders.

"We can't lose Gwen!" Ianto yelled back with an air of finality. "Maybe this is a trap." His voice was quieter now but just as dangerous. If anything, he sounded like he was patronizing Owen. "He could be sucking us back through time one by one." He switched back into talking through his comm. "Get out of there Gwen that's an order.

An order? That was the last straw for Owen. The hatred he felt had never been greater, never more present than in this moment.

The string was being tuned by an amateur, stretching too tight, threatening to spring loose.

"I'm sorry but who exactly put you in charge?!" Owen had lost it now. He wasn't going to stand for being overshadowed. Not again. This time, he wouldn't get the better of him.

But he looked into Ianto's eyes and saw nothing but wrath. The real Ianto coming through again. The fury, the struggle for dominance... And it brought the memories of the previous night with it. Just hours ago that look had brought on a punch. Owen saw everything he had done. He heard every word they had said.

Then he remembered the second time that looked had passed through Ianto's face.

And he remembered what that had done to him.

He had kissed him.

The string snapped.

* * *

**R&R**


	5. Power Play

**Diaclaimer: Again, all dialogue taken from "Captain Jack Harkness" except for my ending. This chapter's a bit longer and probably the longest I'll write in this fic.**

* * *

Owen rushed away from Ianto. He had to fix this. It suddenly became very important to occupy himself with something other than the idea that he had kissed someone who disgusted him so much. He began pulling wires from the floor, preparing his plan.

"What are you doing?" He had followed him. Of course he had followed him. He sank down to Owen's level. "Owen-"

"We haven't got missing numbers. Gonna have to improvise with the rift manipulator." Owen rose. Ianto spoke quickly, extremely concerned taht Owen could destroy everything.

"We can't! It's risky enough with the equation. If we don't do this properly, anythin could happen." Ianto stood. How could Owen have worked here for so long and not understand a simple enough concept as the dangers of the rift? Owen dove into the floor once more. Anything not to look at Ianto. His hatred rose.

"Bombs are falling. They're stuck in the middle of the Cardiff blitz. It's our duty to get them out." He dragged a cord across the Hub. Ianto ran a hand through his hair, wondering how he could possibly fix what Owen was so bent on doing, knowing that he would never take orders from him.

* * *

"Open the rift now and the whole world could suffer. We could all get sucked in! Who knows what will come out!?" Owen was continuing, looking at him as he walked by as if to make a point of how blatantly he was ignoring him. Ianto was going to have to attack him a different way. "This is about Diane, isn't it? When will you accept that she _chose_ to leave you?"

Bingo.

Owen turned sharply to Ianto, his fury unavoidably evident. He exhaled in disbelief. Two could play at this game.

"Where is your cyber girlfriend? Stuck around of course. Not that she had much choice, wired up in the cellar."

He wouldn't let this get to him, he couldn't. But he still wasn't over the death of Lisa. And Owen knew it.

"That was different."

"Yeah, it was. Mainly because Diane didn't try and kill us all oh yeah, she also happened to be a human being!"

"Stop it-" Ianto's heart broke a little more with each word Owen said.

"Not some screwed up metal monster." He was letting Ianto have it now. The reasons that he hated him so much all being made clear. That's all that Lisa was. The fact that Ianto had risked the team for her made him as much of a danger as she was.

"But she was still Lisa!" Ianto whipped around the rift manipulator to face Owen, to stare into his eyes and make sure he knew that he meant every word. "I loved her!"

Owen wasn't interested. He went back to fixing the machine. What, was he trying to say he didn't love Diane?

"You only knew Diane for a week." Ianto knew that would be the last straw. It was undeniably true and he knew Owen wouldn't be able to stand it.

"And it wasn't enough." Owen pushed Ianto. "Maybe the manipulator can calculate the missing figures."

Ianto simply stood and watched Owen continue. His comment had actually shut him up, because it was the same for Ianto as it was for Owen. He understood it completely. It really wasn't enough. It wasn't enough time with Lisa it certainly would be enough time for Owen. He paced back and forth, not knowing what to say next. Maybe he was going about this the wrong way.

"It isn't working." Owen looked around the manipulator, searching for the problem.

"Good. Jack would have never have wanted us to use it this way." He walked back to Owen.

"There's a- there's a piece missing. We've got to find it." We, why had he said we? As if Ianto had any interest in helping him. He felt a hand on his arm. Ianto spun him around and again made him stare him squarely in the eyes. Owen saw it again. The darkness that lay there.

"Maybe you should go home." His voice deepened. Owen was struck again by how different Ianto could be from his butler persona. He was letting it get to him again, this more powerful Ianto. He was feeling what he had felt when he had kissed him. An equal. And Ianto knew it too. But Owen couldn't allow it. He couldn't allow the idea to seep in. Ianto was the teaboy. Ianto was worthless.

"You don't have any power over me." Owen's lip curled up. Ianto stared at him in a way he didn't understand. It wasn't angry or confrontational. He looked up at Owen with innocent eyes, whether of confusion or worry or something else Owen couldn't say.

But it was submissive.

And it struck Owen again.

"Okay Ianto, we'll play it your way." He spoke to him with the tone of a parent trying to appease a small child. That's all that Ianto was doing. Playing a role. He could do nothing but mock it. If Ianto was going to put up a false front, that's what Owen would give him. "Safe and boring."

* * *

"No sign of Bilis leaving the area." Ianto was dejected. Searching for clues when he knew that Owen was right. Everything he said had been right. He turned to see Owen putting on his jacket and opening to door to exit the Hub. He got up from his chair. "Uh, where are you off to?" It was his turn to chastise a child.

'That dance hall." Owen made his way down the stairs. "Bilis's office. He must know how the rift works. Maybe we'll find a clue there. He left before Ianto would protest. He returned to his computer, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop the inevitable.

* * *

Gwen had called him, telling him she had found the missing codes.

"I need the equations, Gwen."

She told him she was going to look.

"Be careful, Gwen, Bilis is still around."

* * *

Gwen called in to Owen.

"Owen, where are you?"

"I'm in the building. Where's Bilis's office?"

"It's at the far end of the corridor. I'll keep looking out here."

Owen reached the office and rifled through every inch of it. He had to find those equations. He had to get Diane back. He had to prove to Ianto how much he loved her. He slapped himself internally. Why did that matter so much to him? He spun around, noticing something hidden under a red cloth. Pulling it away, he found a safe.

"Yes." He breathed. He detached the lock and entered the combination. But there was nothing in the safe. "Shit." A clock chimed. An alarm rang. He had an idea. "Time pieces."

Approaching the grandfather clock, Owen opened the door to find a piece attached to the pendulum, that looked like it would fit the missing spot on the rift manipulator. Pulling it off, he felt a great relief spread through him.

He exited the office, running into Gwen. Shit.

"I... didn't find any equations. I'll um, get back to the Hub." He was a really shit liar even at the best of times. Luckily enough, Gwen wasn't the most observant of people.

"Fine, I'll keep looking in here then." She nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah you do that." Owen backed away and turned to exit the building, a bit more nervous than he expected.

* * *

"Ianto?" Gwen was calling in again. "Yeah, it's me, I found it. It's written in blood."

Owen rushed back into the Hub.

"Gwen's found the rest of Tosh's readings."

"What she got first?" Owen asked, touching his comm.

"Cos, sin, square axcx = x/2." She read. Owen shook his head.

"No we need at least three more numbers, Gwen. They must be somewhere else." He was beginning to worry.

"No. They're not."

"Well how do you know?" Owen asked.

"Somebody's scribbled out the final numbers. Tosh has written a message at the end. It says 'Tell my family I love them.'"

Both Owen and Ianto released their hands from their comms. Ianto was concerned for Tosh. Owen had realized that there really was no way but his way now.

* * *

"It still won't work. There's a piece missing." Ianto marvelled again at Owen's inability to accept the circumstances as he knelt in front of the machine again.

"Bilis had it all along." Owen produced it from his coat.

"We still don't have all the equations." Ianto realized that Owen would stop at nothing, least of all, reason.

"Well maybe the machine can work it out." Owen flipped a switch to turn on the manipulator. Ianto panicked.

"Owen!" The machine sputtered to a halt. Ianto ran a hand through his hair in relief. Owen ran off again. Would he stop at nothing? Ianto followed him into Jack's office.

"There must be something in the safe." Owen was shuffling through files on Jack's desk, desperate to make this work. "The key fits, we just need better instructions!"

"You can't open the safe. You've got no right." Ianto felt the anxiety within him beginning to strengthen. If he found them...

Owen boiled over. That was the last time Ianto would speak to him that way. Who the hell did he think he was?

"I'm second in command I've got every fucking right!" Owen gritted his teeth and continued his task. But Ianto wouldn't shut up.

"There's stuff in there we don't know about, that's the way Jack likes it." He couldn't give up on this. It was wrong.

"I'm not gonna play with his toys, Ianto." Owen sneered, patronizing in every regard. That's how Jack likes it huh? Just like a bitch. A mindless bitch who can do nothing but follow. He lifted a notebook from the desk, flipping through the pages. He landed on a password. "Rhea Silva, the god of war's missus."

Ianto rolled his eyes.

"And a nine digit number. That's clever, Jack." Owen scuttled across the room to the safe. Just as he suspected, Ianto did nothing to stop him. He talked big, but there was nothing he could do. He yanked it open and began pulling out boxes, searching for the right plans. Ianto shot daggars at him with his glares, but Owen was oblivious. He pulled out the Ghost Machine, shrugged a bit at it, and continues on. He found a box containing a pamphlet and correctly assumed what it was for. He pulled out the contents.

"Blueprints for the rift machine." He read over them. Ianto looked down at the plans, then shifted back to Owen. He had to do something. He ran off. Owen followed, knowing that Ianto had every intention to try and stop him, and knowing that he never could.

* * *

Ianto tried to seize the plans from Owen, who snatched them right back.

"There's instructions in here. This isn't some random act of madness." Both looked poised for attack, both standing on a razor's edge.

"It's a trap!" How could Owen not see? "Bilis wanted you to find it."

"Why?" Owen scoffed.

"To provoke the rift! To incite total chaos and destruction! All the reports of the haunted dance hall were anonymous. What if it was him?! Please listen to me!" Ianto pleaded now. Nothing short of begging. He knew it was a lost cause, that even if Owen believed him, questioned his actions, he wouldn't listen. Simply because it was Ianto. Owen treated him as lower than dirt.

"I am tired in awe of the rift! I'm tired of living with Jack's secrets, we don't even know who he is!"

"He's our leader!" How could he not see? There were reasons he kept secrets and Owen was a perfect example of them.

Owen scoffed again. There he was again; Jack's bitch.

"Not anymore." Owen approached him. "Get out of my way!" He shoved Ianto, knowing he wouldn't shove back.

Unfortunately, Ianto was just as tired of being pushed around by Owen as Owen was by Jack, It was time to act. He tackled Owen to the ground, trying to strangle him. Owen fought, struggling against his own shock. Whatever he had felt before for Ianto was in full force now. Ianto's rage now enacted, fueling some kind of hidden urge in Owen.

"Ianto!" He slammed an elbow into Ianto's stomach. Ianto released him, exclaiming in pain as Owen rolled off and grabbed the plans. He kicked Ianto while he was down. He refused to accept his hatred as anything else. Not Ianto. Anyone but Ianto. Let him stay on the ground, low, like the bitch he was. Ianto groaned and curled up, coughing in pain. Owen stared down in dominance and walked away.

Ianto made a decision then. He had to do what was necessary. This was the last time Owen would walk away in pride.

* * *

Owen read the blueprints quickly, needing to follow through. He didn't notice Ianto standing behind him until he spoke.

"Put the key down." His voice was low and threatening. Owen's mind stirred again. What could he possibly do to him? He turned to knock him down again with some sly remark and was met with a gun. "Or I'll shoot."

Owen was speechless.

"You have to let Diane go... Like I did with Lisa." He would make Owen see. It wasn't a question of dominance. They were so very the same.

"Don't compare yourself to me. You're just a teaboy." Owen fought back. There he was again, trying to level them.

"I'm much more than that. Jack needs me." He hadn't met to say it the way he did. He meant that he was an integral part of the team as anyone else. In the back of his mind he was thinking about their relationship but that wasn't the point. That was, however, how he knew Owen would take it. And Owen seized the opportunity.

"In your dreams, Ianto. Your sad, wet dreams when you're his part-time shag, maybe." Owen smirked. There it was again, Ianto's smirk bleeding onto his own face. Ianto cocked his gun and stepped forward. His face drawn with intention, his body showing nothing but pure aggression. Owen felt it stir again. He had to suppress it. He had to win. 'That rift took my lover, and my captain." He felt his voice waver. Don't let him see what this means to him, don't let his see your heart. Ianto's face softened slightly. "So if I die, trying to beat it. Then it'll all be in the line of duty." He reached to put the key in the manipulator.

There was a gunshot and sirring pain. Owen dropped the key and clutched at his shoulder, exclaiming at the agony of the wound. Ianto stared in disbelief. He couldn't believe that his finger had pulled the trigger. That he had won.

No.

Owen used his remaining hand to press the key down.

He had won this after all.

Ianto's shot couldn't stop him. The rift machine began to whir into action. Owen let himself collapse, knowing that it didn't matter know. He had had his way. Ianto looked up at the machine.

"You don't know what you've done." He said.

No, Owen knew exactly what he'd done. He'd saved Jack and Tosh. He had possibly gotten Diane back. And he'd done it it his own way.

* * *

"I knew we did the right thing, opening the rift." Owen remarked as he pulled shrapnel from his shoulder. Ianto shot him a glance. He wouldn't let this go, would he?

"Still no sign of Bilis." He clicked a computer key with some definitiveness. He could still be snide. Owen may have won the physical battle. But that didn't mean Ianto couldn't outwit him. The danger was still afoot and he knew Owen knew it.

"Well it didn't end after all, did it?" Owen panted, getting a wave of pain through his shoulder. "Good job, you're a crap shot."

"I was _aiming _for your shoulder." Ianto snapped back. They exchanged glares.

Jack and Tosh conversed a bit and walked off into Jack's office, leaving Owen and Ianto alone.

"You mind telling me what this is all about?" Ianto pulled back in his chair.

"What?"

"You know what." Ianto glared at Owen.

"I really don't." Owen annunciated every word.

The tension passed between them again.

"Do you need an explanation?" Ianto asked in a patronizing tone.

"Sure." Owen leaned back in his chair.

"I don't owe you one." Ianto turned back to his computer. "I don't owe you anything."

"How about that arm? Do you owe me that?" Owen raised his eyebrows.

"I think I've answered that question quite potently." Ianto gestured towards Owen's wound. "Funny, how the roles have reversed isn't it?"

"Difference is, I helped you. I didn't cause your problem." Owen grinned. "I guess that makes me the bigger man."

"Trust me, you're not." Ianto stared more intently at the screen.

"Really? How's that?" Owen laid his arm on his arm rest and placed hid head in his hand.

"Well, for one thing," Ianto got up from his chair, lifted a stack of papers and hit them against the desktop to straighten them. "I could feel your hard-on when I tackled you." Ianto grabbed the papers and got up from his chair and began to exit the room, turning one last time to Owen. "Let's just say I wasn't impressed." He smirked his infuriating smirk and left Owen, mouth agape, sitting alone.

* * *

**R&R**


	6. Sick and Tired

**AN: Everyone's had a go at TYTNW. Now it's my turn. I hope you guys are enjoying the fic, I'm having a lot of fun writing it. Please let me know what you really think since I'm the biggest judge of Owen/Ianto fics. So I hope mine is good and I'm not a hypocrite. Also, I haven't watched the Master arc in a very long time so let me know if I screw anything up.**

* * *

The plane ride was taking hours.

At least it was a nice plane, a private government airline. In the centre of the plane was a table surrounded by four chairs; one for each of the remaining team. They sat around it eating their lunches: sandwiches prepared by the staff. Unfortunately, it seemed that even on the Prime Minister couldn't prevent the curse of bad airline food on his own plane. They chewed the sandwiches with some difficulty.

"Did he say what exactly we were looking for?" Owen asked. He was seated next to Tosh, across from Gwen. It was always awkward in situations like this. Owen would rather cut off his arse than be around any of the remaining members of Torchwood. Tosh was just the least offensive to him.

"Not specifically. He just said he was getting abnormal readings out there and thought we could help." Tosh took another bite of her sandwich.

"Well that's bloody useful, isn't it?" Owen rolled his eyes.

"Well we can actually narrow it down tremendously based on the fact that it's living on mountain terrain." Tosh explained.

"And of course, if we see something walking around with three heads I think we can make a fair assumption." Ianto bit into his sandwich with some attitude.

"Well, I'm off the the loo, be back in a moment." Owen got up from the table and began to pace towards the back of the plane.

Reaching to bathroom he stared at himself in the mirror, and slashed water on his face. Where was Jack? Why were they all just following along with these orders? Just when Jack had forgiven him for the rift incidents. Just when he was starting to feel alright, he left them again.

He tried not to think about what had happened with the rift and Abaddon. So many people almost died because of him including Rhys and Jack. Who knows how many others? Could Emma have died? Or Carys? How many people they saved had ended up dead because of what he had done?

And why did Ianto have to be right?

All along he had told him not to open the rift. He should have listened. But he couldn't let himself think that. He couldn't let him be right. In the end, opening the rift really had fixed all the problems that came through. Jack just had to suffer for it.

And now Jack was paying him back for it by disappearing.

He exited the bathroom to find Ianto standing in his way.

"What now?" Owen sighed.

"Owen, you aren't okay. Everyone's worried about you." Ianto crossed his arms.

"What do you care?" Owen shoved Ianto out of the way.

"I do." Ianto called after him. Owen paused. He turned back to Ianto, glaring.

"You're only concerned because it's probably my fault Jack probably disappeared." Owen sneered. "I saw you when Jack came back. You only proved everything I've said right." Owen's lips began to peel into a smile. "Now you've got no one to follow." Owen began to walk away. Ianto followed and grabbed his arm. Owen tried to pull it away, but for whatever reason, Ianto's grip seemed tighter than usual.

"Hiding behind your prat comments isn't going to do any good." Ianto stared him down. Ianto had been more and more aggressive lately. Owen thought he could attribute it to Jack's leaving but maybe Ianto was just coming into his own. "I miss him." His words should have been sad, but it was more of a feelingless statement. It took Owen by surprise. "But I don't think it's your fault. Neither does anyone else. Get over yourself." Ianto loosened his grip and Owen snatched him arm out. Giving him one final look of distaste, Owen walked back into the main area of the plane.

Ianto stood there a while, watching Owen go. Maybe it was his undying respect for Owen, despite whatever he did to hurt them. Maybe it was how disheartened Owen had been lately. Maybe it was the way that Owen's glares seemed to shoot through him. But something was changing in Ianto. He didn't want it.

* * *

It was dark now, the plane was only a few hours from its destination. Gwen still found a way to sleep. Tosh was off in some corner doing research. Both were in another section of the plane, separated by a curtain. Apparently the airplane staff didn't know much about Torchwood, or they would have realized that splitting the rooms wouldn't have helped with the sex issue anyway. Owen was trying to sleep, but finding it extremely difficult. There were beds set up on the plane for them, attached to the wall. They were a bit narrow for Owen's liking. Ianto's bed was across from his, and much to his annoyance, the overhead light Ianto was using to read was preventing his from sleeping. As if only to add to his annoyance, Ianto was still in his suit. Did he ever loosen up?

"Oi." Owen called to him. Ianto turned his head with some reluctance. There was something different about him today. "Do you mind? Not everyone has to stay awake because you decided to read. You couldn't move to another area or something? And also, not Jack's not here anymore if you haven't noticed. No one to impress so take that fucking suit off." He pulled the covers over his head. "Bloody useless." Soon Ianto turned the light out. Owen assumed that it was because he was trying to sleep too. But within a few moments, there was a voice over him.

"Owen."

Owen groaned in frustration and yanked the covers from over his head.

"What the hell do you-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Ianto was shoving his arms down onto the bed.

"Let's see how useless I am." He roughly pressed his lips to Owen's. Owen's head was on the bed so he couldn't pull away. He tried twisting away but it didn't work. Ianto was leaning over him in such a way that he had leverage but hadn't yet gotten onto his bed. Finally, he let go.

"I'm tired of being just another bloody joke to you." Ianto kissed him again, more forcefully this time. "I am tired of you treating everyone like shit when we're trying to help you." Another kiss, longer, but just as fierce.

Owen struggled against him. He knew he could easily have thrown him off by kicking him or any number of other things. But something was holding him back.

"You've ruined everything and this is how you repay us when we try to forgive you?" He breathed heavily over Owen. Not letting go, just staring at him. His face a bit too close. Owen looked up into Ianto's eyes. They were burning again. Owen could feel the stirring. Was it exhilaration or fear? The odd feeling that crept in whenever Ianto showed his true colors, whenever he was angry, kept finding him. Whenever Ianto was threatening or dangerous...

Whenever he was more like Owen.

To his own surprise, Owen neck craned and reached up to kiss Ianto back. Ianto released his arms from Owen's and the latter's quickly found their way to Ianto. One reached the back of his head and the other found the back of his shoulder, pushing him further into the kiss. Ianto made his way onto the bed, his legs separated over Owen.

"You think I'm not tired!?" Owen pulled away for only a brief moment to speak. Finding Ianto again, he slid his tongue into his mouth. He was beginning to see why Jack was so interested in Ianto. Maybe he too saw that arousing flame in his eyes. Maybe he too had found pleasure in being assaulted like this, roughly and suddenly. "I'm tired of living like this." He pulled away again. The hand on the back of Ianto's head yanked at his hair, pulling his head backwards. Ianto exclaimed in pain. "Get off me." Owen looked up at Ianto with seething rage and shoved him off.

He began to exit the bed but found himself being pulled back. Ianto swung around to the front of Owen and shoved him back onto the bed. His arms again pushed Owen's down.

"You don't get to walk away from me. Not anymore. For once, you're going to listen to me." Ianto leaned down and spoke into Owen's ear. "You're going to find that despite what you seem to believe, I am never the bitch. Not with Jack. And certainly not with you." Owen shuddered at the sound of Ianto's voice so close, the deep tone it gained when he was angry of upset ringing through him. Ianto pulled away and looked at Owen directly again. "You're going to sit there and watch me turn my back on you. I think you need to taste your own medicine, doctor." He released his hold on Owen and pulled down on his suit jacket, fixing it as if nothing had happened. Owen could only watch in stunned silence as Ianto did exactly what he said, turning his back on Owen and exiting the room.

* * *

**More angst to come.**


	7. Stranded and Confused

**AN: Two chapters at once! You guys sure are lucky.**

* * *

"You you alright?" Tosh asked as Ianto strolled by her.

"Fine. Why do you ask?" Ianto looked as placid as usual.

"I just heard some commotion in the other room." Tosh put down what she was reading and turned to angle her body toward Ianto.

"No, no. Owen was just getting irritated by my reading. I thought I'd come and sit with you?" He smiled. Tosh returned the smile and motioned to the seat next to hers. "Any word on our creature feature?" Ianto asked as he lowered himself into the seat. Tosh chuckled a bit to herself. Ianto sure loved his rhymes.

"Unfortunately not. But I've been trying. It's just too vague. Sure, the mountainous area narrows it down but there's still any number of alien it could be." She sighed.

"I trust you can figure it out." Ianto stated reassuringly. Tosh found herself relaxing a bit. She could always count on Ianto to know what to say. It put her at ease. There was something so calm and all-knowing about him.

* * *

He was going to kill that vicious git.

Owen found himself in the bathroom again, fuming as he looked at himself in the mirror. How stupid he was, to have let that happen. Why had he reciprocated? Ianto was nothing. He was less than nothing.

He was all he had left.

Owen shook the thoughts out of his head but they kept returning. How his hatred had fueled his desire for him, how his hands had grasped at Ianto, how he had wanted him in those few moments. Maybe Ianto was right. Maybe be was more than just the teaboy, the office bitch, the useless man acting behind the suit. All he had done lately was proven to Owen the power that he had over him. Owen had just refused to acknowledge it. He used to be second in command. He used to be respected. But he saw now what Ianto had been trying to make him see. They were equals. He was just as much of a traitor as Ianto was, blinded by love to the detriment of the team and all it stood for. They had both lost someone and it had destroyed their judgment.

No, he couldn't be. They weren't the same. They couldn't be more different. But when Ianto's eyes darkened and dilated, they became a mirror and Owen could see nothing but himself.

He ran a hand through his hair. He had to stop thinking like this. He was better than this, so much better. But he found himself succumbing to the images again.

He kept reliving in his head. He could feel Ianto's hands gripping his wrists. He could hear Ianto's voice, grave and threatening. In his mind, Ianto's lips moved against his, too crushing, too forceful. Owen's lips were thin and frog-like, but Ianto's were full and gorgeous. And then there were his hands. Now that he thought of it, had never seen someone with such perfect hands. He had such beautiful long fingers... He saw his eyes again and even in his mind the power behind them sent him spinning. It was beginning again. The memories started to shift. Ianto's beautiful mouth sinking down. His perfect hands sliding across his chest. His piercing eyes looking up at him.

But in reality Owen was alone, unable to stand it anymore.

His hand reached for his zipper.

* * *

They touched down in a valley in the Himalayan mountains. The team filed out of the plane, thanking the pilot, and lugging their baggage across the snowy land. They quickly put on their extra layers.

"I know the himalayas are supposed to be cold but I was _not _ready for this!" Gwen yelled, her teeth chattering.

"Actually no, the Himalayas usually are about 18 degrees Celsius in the Winter months. It shouldn't be this cold." Ianto threw on a winter coat and a thick scarf. Owen rolled his eyes. Ever the encyclopedia.

"Well can we assume it's our alien causing this then, can't we?" Gwen pulled on a pair of gloves.

"It's fair to assume." Tosh nodded. She synced up a square device that would give them a location on abnormal readings. They all hoped that they wouldn't have to scavenge the whole of the mountain range to find this thing.

They were hit with a sudden gust of freezing wind. All of a sudden, it began to snow heavily. Gwen pulled the top of her coat over her nose. They were being blinded by the whisking white flurries. Tosh tried to yell something but no one could quite hear her. They all began to run. As the downfall grew heavier, they lost sight of eachother. Ianto followed a seemingly human-shaped blur in the distance. He was becoming winded from the running and the cold air in his lungs. If they he didn't catch up soon, he might collapse in the snow. He saw the figure turn to the left and he followed.

* * *

"See that?" The Master pointed to a large screen he had set up. "My little frost machine's really giving them a run for their money. _Awww _I hope our poor little _Jack_rabbits don't turn into popsicles!" He pouted a lip in feigned upset and then morphed it into a grin. "Look at them go!"

Jack looked at the screen with sorrow in his heart. He was bleeding profusely from the Master's last round of torture but this was eclipsing that pain tenfold.

"If they end up dead..." Jack spoke through gritted teeth, partly out of pain, partly out of anger.

"What?" The Master leaned close to Jack. "What are you gonna do, hmmm? Let's see, they're all the way over there and you're..." He rattled Jack's shackles. "Chained up in here. I don't see a lot of ammo for threat here, Captain." He stepped away from Jack and gained a serious look. He motioned to the TV for the guards. "Make sure that stays on." He began to exit the chamber. Halfway through the door, he turned to Jack again. "I wanna see if a man can die of grief."

* * *

Ianto saw the figure disappear but he kept running. After a minute or so, he saw what looked to be the entrance of a cave. He ran as hard as he could and entered. It was slightly warmer inside but still dark. He unbuttoned the pocket of his coat and pulled out a torch. Turning it on, he shone the light around the cave. It was a small space, more like an indent in the side of what he assumed to be a mountain than an actual cave. Still, it was a decent enough size, about the area of Jack's office. The beam from his light panned across a figure lying on the floor. He approached it, but couldn't see clearly, his eyes stinging from all the snow that had flown in. As he got closer, he saw that it was Owen.

"Owen!" He yelled, trying to wake him. But he wasn't moving. He put a hand to his forehead, one of the only bits of skin showing. Ice cold. He removed his scarf to feel for a pulse. It was still there, but faint. He tried yelling again. If Owen didn't wake up and start moving, Ianto feared the worst. He didn't want to be so concerned, but he found that despite himself, he was panicking. There was only one thing left to do. He tried CPR. After a few tries, Owen woke, coughing violently.

"If I ever... Ever... Wake up to your lips agian... You're a dead man, Ianto." He breathed heavily before going into another fit.

"Sorry for trying to save you." Ianto rolled is eyes.

"Yeah well you shouldn't have bothered." He sat up slowly and leaned against the wall of the cave.

"That's a bit dramatic, isn't it?" Ianto raised an eyebrow.

"Think of what happened to you and Lisa and tell me you didn't feel as suicidal as I do." Owen spat back. He slapped himself internally. There he was comparing them again. "You don't know a single thing about me." He thought of Katie now, of Diane, of his betrayal of the team, of everything that had led to this. He should have let himself collapse in the snow. "Where's everyone else?"

"I don't know." It was growing a bit lighter in the cave and they could see each other better now.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Owen had assumed they had followed him as well.

"I don't know Owen! They aren't here!" Ianto sunk down against the wall of the cave across from Owen.

"Lovely, just you and me then." Owen groaned.

"It would seem so." Ianto crossed his arms over his chest to try to warm himself. They sat in awkward silence. "Owen, about the plane-"

"Don't you dare." Owen hissed.

"If we're going to be sitting here alone, we may as well talk." Ianto rubbed his upper arms against the chill.

"Not about that. It will never, ever happen again, understand?!" Owen yelled at him now. Out of embarrassment or assertion he didn't know for sure.

"If you still think you can scream at me like that you obviously didn't listen very well." Ianto threatened. Owen retreated. "You're going to let me speak." Owen said nothing. He just fumed, afraid of what Ianto would do next, and even more afraid that he wouldn't want to stop it. "I want to know if you're interested in finishing what you started Owen."

"What _I_ started?" Owen scowled.

"_Y__ou_ kissed _me, _Owen. That night you fixed my arm. Why?" Ianto asked calmly and genuinely.

"I don't have to answer that."

"Yes, you do." Ianto replied with a bit more force.

"I was drunk and you kept smirking, that's why." Owen looked away.

"Not an answer. You could have just punched me." Ianto stood up and walked closer to Owen, seating himself a few feet away on the same wall.

"But I didn't."

"That's what I mean."

"Shut it or you're going to get that punch." Owen whipped his head towards Ianto.

"I don't think I am. Why did you kiss me?" Ianto persisted. Owen saw there was no getting out of this. He was in a cave with the one person he least wanted to see and he wasn't about to stop asking. He exhaled.

"It's weird. There's this... burning in your eyes when you act like yourself." Owen didn't want to say anymore.

"When I act like myself?" Ianto was confused.

"You know when you drop the hoity-toity butler routine and you are who you are." He knew that wasn't going to be enough but he could at least try to cut it off there.

"And who am I?" Ianto scooted closer to him, still staring him down.

"Well..." Owen chuckled to himself. "You're just like me, aren't you?"

"I will never be like you, Owen." Ianto was changing again. Owen was forcing him to. He couldn't tell if he was doing it on purpose.

"I think you are." Owen shifted his position to face him. "I think you're as dark and horny and violent and raging as any of us."

"Well that you're right about." Ianto admitted. "But I am different."

"How, you're clever? You're intelligent? You have a pension for getting on people's nerves?" Owen rolled his eyes.

"Well there's all that, of course." Ianto's look turned grave. "I know better than to think I'm in love with someone I shagged for a week." There was a silence. Owen felt his rage begin to boil up.

"What do you call Jack then?" Owen challenged.

"I'm not in love with Jack." Ianto defended.

"I'd say differently considering your body language when you kissed him." Owen sneered. "Melted right into it."

"I know better than to be in love with Jack." Ianto was growing increasingly irritated.

"Ah, see? Maybe you are as smart as you think you are. He'd never stay with you. He couldn't even stay with the team."

"Quiet." Ianto spoke through a clenched jaw. He didn't want to let it show, but Owen was hurting him. He would always hurt him. He missed Jack more than anyone. Maybe be he didn't love him but he cared for him more than they did.

"Where's Jack now? Off gallivanting somewhere getting pissed or fucking aliens? Probably isn't even thinking about you." Owen shot his gaze into Ianto, trying to hurt him. Ianto tried to ignore it. He still hadn't answered his question. Two could play this game.

"So you kissed me because I sank to your level? Because you saw yourself in me?" Owen found himself nodding before he could stop it. "I'd argue that you wanted to see part of yourself in me last night." He grinned. Owen dropped his jaw a bit, partially in disbelief that Ianto had twisted his affirmation into an innuendo so easily, and partially because it was true, because as soon as Ianto had gone he'd found himself uncontrollably wanking to the thought of that very thing. He rolled his eyes to make it seem as though his jaw drop was in irritation, not stunned silence. He had to turn this around.

"Did you steal that line from Jack?" He scoffed. "How did it feel, Ianto? Pinning me down because you can't stand the fact that he's not doing it to you anymore?" He smiled at his success, knowing that that would be the breaking point. He was right.

* * *

**R&R**


	8. Burning: heavily revised

**AN: I reread the last chapter I submitted and I HATED how I wrote it. **

**I didn't want this to turn into a bad smut fic. Especially since it was terribly unrealistic. So I rewrote the scene. I still have the old chapter if you guys want it back I can resubmit it but I didn't want it. Still some sex here but i like this version MUCH better and it fits the story of my fic much more. If there's one thing I can't stand it's poorly written smut and I wasn't going to let the tired 4:00 AM writer inside of me get away with it.**

* * *

Ianto was on him in a matter of seconds, pushing Owen into the wall of the cave. It was unbearably cold but he stopped caring. Owen did nothing to protest. He leaned into the kisses, relished in them. He knew that this was what he'd been searching for when he'd started to fight with Ianto. He thought back to what Jack had said about being desperate to be mauled, about how he'd so easily succumbed to temptation from the false Diane and opened the rift, how he'd allowed Ianto's eyes to steal him over and over again. He was finally learning to accept it, how he could succumb so easily to the things he wanted. What else could he do? Here in the freezing weather, everything else, all the pretense, fell away and nothing mattered.

Their mouths opened, tongues harshly twisting, their bodies still seeking dominance though their minds were not. Owen grasped onto Ianto's shoulders, trying to deepen the kiss, to submit further. He panted for air as he pulled away only for a moment before allowing Ianto's tongue in again. Ianto pushed himself closer to Owen, twisting against him. Ianto released from Owen and simply stared at him, allowing Owen to see the darkness in his eyes, knowing that that was what made Owen mad for him, needing to utilize it. Just as he suspected, Owen grew harder beneath him. It was wrong for that serene, innocent shade of blue to look so vicious. Ianto began to kiss Owen's neck slowly, dragging out each motion, wanting to torture Owen, make him feel guilty that he enjoyed this so much. Ianto greeted his lips again, kissing slowly but just as cruelly. He began to peel off layers of his clothing.

* * *

"Well, this is an interesting development, isn't it?" The Master asked, watching the screen. He smiled at Jack, who was looking on at the TV in disbelief. Having heard their last conversation it was clear that Ianto still cared about him. So why was he doing this? He hated Owen. What had happened to them when Jack had left? What had happened before? "Either of these yours?" The Master asked. Jack refused to respond. He hated to remember of how he much he'd been thinking of Ianto lately. How he'd been wanting to change things. He'd missed him more than he should have. He missed all of them. Despite the walls he tried to build for himself in terms of relationships, there was a glint in his eye that the other team members lacked. He'd been thinking about making things more legitimate with him. Maybe they were meant to be more than just fuck-buddies. Or maybe it was the amount of time he'd been cooped up in torture talking. He couldn't allow himself to want a relationship, not after what had happened to so many others.

"Hello? I asked you a question." The Master jammed a knife through Jack's hand. He screamed in pain.

"Ianto! It's Ianto!" He yelled.

"Hmm. I see. I think I'll turn the heat up for them. Wouldn't want them to freeze up and stop what they're doing would we? Not when you could miss out on the opportunity of seeing him with someone else." He looked back at the screen with some disgust. "Well, I've never been much for the erotic but I'll leave you here. Have fun!" He strutted out of the chamber.

* * *

Maybe it was the fever of the moment but things were definitely getting warmer. The cold was seeming to melt away even though they were taking more clothes off. Maybe the snow had stopped. Neither was in the right mindset to care to look outside. Ianto decided to attribute it to the alien moving further away, not willing to accept how much he wanted Owen.

Ianto pulled off Owen's coat and jacket and began to work on his own. When they were left in their trousers, he began to grind up against Owen. Owen groaned and angled his hips. Ianto found himself staring at Owen's body. As if only to add to Owen's point, although they were different in overall body structure, they were somewhat similar. Not very muscled, but with definite tone on their arms.

Ianto flipped off of Owen and onto the wall, pulling Owen in front of him. Owen almost took pride in this, thinking Ianto was going to let him top, until he realized what Ianto wanted. Ianto kicked off his shoes and Owen did the same with his. Owen kissed down Ianto's chest, quickly moving lower, pulling Ianto's trousers off. He reached to grab the front of Ianto's pants but Ianto swatted his hand away. He was still in charge, and for only the second time in his life, Owen was going to do exactly what Ianto wanted. He slid off Ianto's pants and noticed that Ianto's earlier comment about being the bigger man was pretty accurate, but not by much.

He slid his mouth down over the head. He hadn't had nearly as much experience with men as women but he knew what he himself liked. Taking the rest of Ianto's cock in his hand, he began to stroke and bob his head in unison. He took more in, surprised at how pleasurable he was finding it to do to someone else. He moaned around Ianto, who's head was now twisted sideways against the wall. He was panting heavily and that only made Owen hornier. He pulled off, licked his tongue up the shaft, and dove back down. He repeated this motion for a while before he noticed that Ianto was now audibly moaning. He reached out to grab Owen's head and forced it down further. Owen was having some difficulty, but Ianto didn't seem to care. He began to press into Owen's mouth, his moans a delicious mixture of his higher, more innocent speaking voice and the lower levels it reached when he was angry. Suddenly, Owen lifted off and began to kiss Ianto's lips, much to Ianto's disappointment. He was writhing a bit underneath him and shoved Owen back down mid-kiss. But Owen wasn't having it. He was going to get something out of this if it killed him.

Owen pulled off his jeans and pants. Ianto sat up against the wall, still heaving, but the build up starting to dissipate so that he would be able to go longer. Owen willingly lay down on the floor of the cave, knowing there was no way that Ianto was going to let him top. Ianto met him, hovering over him.

"Ianto..." Owen pulled Ianto closer in and began to kiss him. The sound of Owen saying his name for the first time without any hatred or judgment, but because he wanted to say it, needed to say it... Not a hint of animosity. It affected Ianto in ways he couldn't describe, and probably didn't want to admit. He lifted away and his face changed. He realized it was no longer a power play.

That shift made Owen stop. He couldn't let this become more than angry sex. He just couldn't. Not with Ianto. How many times lately had he told himself, "Not with Ianto?" It was starting to become hollow prayer. He forced himself to resist it. But each time it got more difficult.

He had to think of something. He remembered Lisa, but that was clouded over by Diane. He thought of when Ianto shot him, but that was clouded over by his shooting Jack. There was nothing. Nothing that could convince him that this was still a power play remained.

But then he thought of the smirk. The simple thing that used to bother him. The thing that used to take over his thoughts of Ianto and fill them with hatred. At some point, his obsession with an enraged Ianto's eyes had replaced those thoughts and soaked him with lust. He could go back now. He let all his recent memories of Ianto's face drift lower, shifting from his eyes to his mouth. The smirk came back. That was enough.

He felt his stomach churn when he thought of what he had just been doing to Ianto. He pushed the Welshman off, panting and trying to swallow the burning anger that was finding its old familiar way back into his system. How could he live with himself now? He got up, reaching for his discarded clothes, and began to put them back on, disgusted with himself. Ianto watched Owen as he moved towards the entrance of the cave.

"Where are you going?" Ianto asked, trying not to show his anxiety.

"I'm going to find Gwen and Tosh." He picked up his backpack, lying near the entrance of the cave. "Clean youself up. That's your only job, isn't it?" He gave Ianto one more disgusted glance before exiting the cave, leaving Ianto in shocked silence.

Alone again.

* * *

**Let me know if you liked this version more, I certainly do.**

**Now I feel better about this and can continue the fic.**


	9. What Remains

**Continuing with TYTNW**

* * *

Owen walked through the valley, searching for Gwen and Tosh. It was still fairly cold, but not freezing like it had been. A heavy layer of snow coated the ground below him. He was already winded from earlier and the snow was making it even harder to walk, each step taking too much effort. He knew it wasn't a smart idea, but he decided to call out for his teammates. Let the alien eat him alive if it wanted, he didn't care anymore. How much lower could he sink?

"Tosh!" He screamed. "Gwen!" He knew he should turn back, but no way was he going back in that cave. He sat down in the snow, too tired and breathless to continue. He continued to call their names.

How had he gotten here? Sitting in the snow of a foreign place, unaware of if his team was alive, and more importantly, almost having shagged Ianto. In spite of himself, Owen began to cry.

"Owen?" He looked up. Gwen was standing over him. He sprang to his feet. As much as he tried not to care about Gwen, she was still his mate, one of the only people he had left in his life, and she was alive. He found himself hugging her. Gwen awkwardly reached a hand around to rub his back, not quite sure what to do.

"You're alive." Owen breathed. He pulled away. "Where's Tosh?"

"I haven't found her." Gwen's voice wavered. "What about Ianto?" Owen swallowed hard.

"We found a cave around here. He's... resting."

"Is he okay?" Gwen furrowed her brow.

"Yeah," Owen almost chuckled to himself at the ridiculousness of it all. "He's more than okay."

"Okay, that's better. I feel better." Gwen looked around. "Should we look for her?"

"We have to." Owen's face became grave. "What if that thing got her?

"It didn't." Gwen looked back at Owen with an intensely serious expression. There was a moment of silence. Owen turned and began to walk through the valley. Gwen followed, both of their eyes peeled.

"How long you been walking?" Owen asked.

"Maybe... thirty?" Gwen puzzled. "It's a bit hard in the snow. I'm getting tired." As if to accentuate her point, she pulled her boot out of the snow with some difficulty.

"Know what?" Owen asked, half laughing to himself.

"What?"

"I don't think there even is an alien. I think we were sent here to die."

"Sorry? We were sent by the government!" Gwen couldn't understand. Harold Saxon was a good man.

"We've always been a pain in their arse though haven't we? Hell, I'd wanna get rid of us." Owen stopped.

"What is it?" Gwen asked, trying to mask her concern.

"Do you hear that?" Owen spun around, trying to get a better location on the sound. Gwen nodded silently, indicating that she could. "It's coming from over there." Owen pointed to his left. He began to walk quickly in that direction, but Gwen grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going? You don't even know what it is." Gwen hissed. Owen yanked his arm out.

"Let's find out, then." Owen raised his eyebrows before continuing on. Gwen threw a hand up in frustration but nevertheless followed.

There was something sticking out of the snow, black, and groaning. As they got closer, they recognized it as a piece of Tosh's coat. They hurried forward.

"Tosh!?" Gwen began furiously digging through snow. Owen tried to help but his hands were numb. He hadn't put his gloves back on. They uncovered her face, extremely pale and frost bitten. "Oh god, Tosh!" Gwen put her hand on her face, ice cold. "Darling, darling speak to me..." Gwen was desperately trying to communicate. Tosh was blinking slowly and continuing to groan. Owen continued to dig more of her out. "Tosh, we're gonna get you out, okay? It'll be fine." Gwen tried to smile but her mouth twitched. Tosh's face was barely moving.

"Gwen..." Owen breathed. Gwen looked back at Owen and followed his line of vision. She gasped. Tosh's chest was concaving in disturbing ways, her breath shallow and shaking. "She was suffocating in there, I think the pressure cracked her ribs." Owen spoke quickly, trying to assess the damage, thinking of how he could possibly help.

"What can we do?" Gwen asked softly. Owen didn't respond. Gwen's face changed and darkened. She yelled. "You're the bloody doctor, you tell me what we can do!" Gwen was starting to tear up. She knew the answer before he said it.

"We can't. We just can't." Owen also began to cry silently. "I'm so sorry, there's nothing we can do." It was a practiced response, one he'd said many times to many patient's loved ones. But this was Tosh. This time he really was sorry. Moving her would risk a cracked rib popping one of her lungs. Her breath was already too slow. There was no way.

They stayed there a long while as Gwen felt Tosh's life drain from her. Finally, when her breathing ceased, Gwen closed her eyes soundlessly. She sat a moment longer before getting up, face expressionless.

"I think you were right, Owen," she said softly. "But whoever sent us to die is going to realize they've picked the wrong team to slaughter."

* * *

"Christ, aren't you in a state? Is everything okay?" Gwen asked as her first glance into the cave led her to Ianto. Owen had said he was 'better than okay.' He just looked horrified and dejected.

"Gwen." Ianto stood to embrace her, "Good to see you." He stepped back, nodding.

"You didn't answer my question. You alright?" Gwen never was one to let an issue lie,

"Just... worried about you and Tosh." Ianto motioned to the wall of the cave that hasn't been designated as Owen or Ianto's. She sat there, suddenly becoming very interested in studying the laces of her boots rather than looking up. Ianto knew what that meant. "She's not okay is s-"

"No." Gwen said forcefully, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Okay." Ianto nodded. Though he wondered about her death, he knew they couldn't discuss it now. Owen stared on awkwardly, wondering why on earth he had to be stuck here with these two.

* * *

"One down!" The Master was dancing around Jack. "Three to go."

"No. You touch any of them again, you're dead." Jack gritted his teeth. First Suzie, now Tosh. How many more had to die because of him and the job he gave them?

"Am I?" The Master stopped right in front of Jack.

"The Doctor will kill you." Jack threatened. The Master laughed.

"The Doctor? You mean the prune I've got locked up in there? No, no." He leaned down, obnoxiously close to Jack's face. "Tell you what... If your team can escape... Which they can't... I'll let you kill me." He grinned and backed away.

"I believe in them." Jack said genuinely.

"Yeah that's worth a lot these days isn't it? The world believed in Harold Saxon and look where that got them."

Jack lowered his head. It was all over.

* * *

"What's the plan?" Ianto twisted his hands to warm them and vent his nervousness.

"I hoped you had one." Gwen admitted. Owen scoffed quietly. As if Gwen ever had a plan... "What have we got for food?"

"Just a package of crisps in my bag." Ianto searched through his items for more food but found nothing.

"Owen?" Gwen inquired. Owen shrugged. "Lovely. Nobody decided to pack for the worst?"

"What are you yelling at us for? You didn't either!" Owen sneered.

"I didn't think we'd get stuck in the middle of a snowstorm." Gwen retorted.

"Welcome to Torchwood." Ianto rolled his eyes, dropping his crisps in dejection.

"I suppose we could try to find the food pack." Gwen suggested.

"Gwen, we don't even know where we are. How are we supposed to find it?" Owen shifted his sitting to a more confrontational pose.

"We have to try. One of us must be able to retrace their steps to where we landed." Gwen wasn't going to give this up.

"Under mounds of snow?" Owen an arm out in exasperation.

"Refrigeration." Ianto quipped. Owen glared.

"Shut up. Gwen, it's useless."

"No it's not. I'm going out there." Gwen got up and stood near the cave's entrance.

"Gwen, we don't know what's out there." Ianto warned.

"I'll go it alone then. I didn't ask you to come, but I'm not going to starve to death in some foreign mountain." Gwen crossed her arms. "You two stay here." Ianto and Owen looked at each other, thinking of the horror of having to be alone together again.

"No." They both said forcefully. Gwen's brow furrowed.

"What's the matter with you two? Is everything alright?" Neither responded. "Well, seeing as nobody seems o be making a move, I'm heading out." They knew there was no stopping Gwen once she was set on something.

"Be careful." Ianto said softly. He knew how this was going to end. Gwen nodded. She exited the cave.

Within seconds there was a gut-wrenching sound, like metals scraping against each other. They could hear Gwen's screams begin to echo through the valley. They both rushed outside. But the noise had ceased and she was gone.

* * *

"What do you think of my phoenix?" The Master grinned at Jack. "It's a wonder what the mechanics can do. I get my own robot monster!"

Jack could say nothing. Two down.

"What was that about my touching any of them again? That little hollow threat? You're powerless. Who'll I get next? How about the butler?" The Master spun around to the screen.

Jack seized the opportunity. He wrapped his hands around his chains and used his remaining strength to pull himself up slightly and kick the Master down. Taken by surprise, the Time Lord hit his head on the ground. The guards immediately seized Jack, beating him until his face was no longer recognizable.

"Fix those restraints! And find some way to tie his legs down." The Master ordered, slightly humiliated. "Looks like he's still got some fight in him. We can fix that." The master exited the chamber rubbing his head, ears bursting with Jack's agonizing screams.

* * *

"What do we do?" Ianto whispered to Owen as they stood, unable to move, in the valley.

"I don't know." Owen looked back at him. "I just don't." Both were on the verge of tears, but were too in shock from the events of the day to cry.

"We have to find a way to make this work." Ianto mumbled, not wanting to say what they were both thinking. Owen's defenses went straight up.

"I don't have any obligation to you." Owen looked away from Ianto.

"Owen, like it or not, we're all we have left. The team's gone, the whole world's gone under, and we're stuck here. Please, we're still a team and I will not leave you alone." Ianto put a hand on his shoulder, Owen flinched a bit but eventually relaxed into his protective gesture. This was no longer a matter of who was better or worse or even what had happened earlier that day. There was no one left to impress or hide from. This was a matter of survival and loyalty. Owen reached across to place his hand over Ianto's on his shoulder.

"For Gwen, Tosh, and Jack." Owen nodded. He removed his hand and Ianto did the same with his. They walked back to the cave in silence. Somehow, in this most unexpected of ways, they had found the means to carry on.

* * *

**R&R**


	10. Likeness

**Sorry it's been about a month since my last update! I've been very busy and I haven't even thought about my badly written fanfiction. You know what? I'm gonna shamelessly self-promote here: ya'll should read my post-countrycide fic it's probably the only one I've ever done where the characters are written correctly and it's definitely my favorite.**

**The last TYTNW chapter. **

* * *

It had been days since they'd eaten.

They were going to starve.

They were both lying on the floor of the cave, trying to conserve energy. They had had barely any food in the past few weeks, when they were lucky enough to catch an animal. But they were too cautious of leaving the cave after what happened to Gwen to be very successful. But they now trusted each other. They had to. There was no one else in the world to take care of them. They had barely spoken the first few days, but after a while they began to talk civilly. After a while, they were talking about things they hadn't spoken of in months, even years in some cases. They found that they weren't very different in a lot of ways. But where Ianto suffered silently his concerns and used them to better himself, Owen found himself grieving and lashing out. It happened that in the second week, they started discussing Lisa and Katie.

* * *

"I was just thinking. You never talk about Lisa. Why?" Owen picked meat off a rodent. Ianto was still twirling his own over a makeshift fire.

"Dunno. I guess she was gone a long time before we killed her. I just didn't want to realize it and talking about it would make me realize it. And I know everyone was a bit... touchy about the situation. I didn't want to cause trouble." He withdrew his rodent from the stick he had skewered it on.

"But you loved her?" Owen prodded.

"Yeah. I did." Ianto spoke slowly. He looked at Owen, knowing that he understood. He continued with his story. "We met when I was working at Torchwood One. I sat near her in our section of the office and I brought her coffee every day. She got tired of it and finally just asked if I was ever going to ask her out. So I did. It took a while but she eventually grew to love me. I was happy." He sighed. Owen drew his lips tight.

"I get it. I... used to have a fiance." Owen looked up at Ianto, who looked back with confusion. "What? You didn't think I was all sex and no romance did you?"

"No, no. I just... wondered why you hadn't mentioned it." Ianto peeled away bits of skin awkwardly.

"Like you said." There was a bit of a pause. "Her name was Katie. She got infected by an alien that invaded her brain. It was right before we were set to get married. That's how I joined Torchwood." He exhaled. "That's why I couldn't stand it when Diane left. I just always lose everyone."

"Well we've got each other. I won't easily lost." Ianto smiled. Then he began to chuckle a bit.

"What?" Owen said with a bite. "I don't know what's funny about this conversation."

"It's not that. I was thinking about joining Torchwood. I'm sure you've heard it."

"The pterodactyl bit?" Owen smirked. The story was well known at Torchwood.

"Yeah, but that's not all of it." Ianto took a bite of...was it a rat? He wasn't even sure but it tasted revolting. "He told you I begged didn't he?"

"Pretty much." Owen and Ianto stood as Owen stomped on the fire to put it out.

"He would. I was upset about it. Shamlessly flirting my way into Torchwood. But I did it for her. That's what mattered." Ianto and Owen sat back down as the smoke cleared.

"The things we do, eh?" Owen stared down solemnly at the fire.

* * *

It was a few days later that they allowed themselves to worry about Jack

"Whereabouts do you think he is?" Owen asked.

"Dunno. But there must be a reason he's gone. He wouldn't just abandon us." Ianto knew he was in denial. How many times had he said that and actually believed it?

"Is that right?" Owen rolled his eyes. Ianto didn't respond. "It's... not just you. I wanted to believe it for a while. I think Jack held us together, how else do you think I'd get along with you lot?"

"You don't have to do that." Ianto sat up.

"What?" Owen copied him.

"The sarcastic tough guy thing. It's not becoming. It's a defense. What do you have to defend yourself against here?" Ianto knew that he was right, more importantly, so did Owen. There was a bit of a pause.

"I'm sorry, you know. About everything I've said about Jack and you. I sure as hell wasn't when I said them, but I am now."

"That's better." Ianto smiled. "It's fine, really. I'm used to it."

"From who?" Owen thought he was the only one who'd ever bothered Ianto about it.

"Me." He sighed. "Keep deluding myself, like you said. Not even sure what I was doing half the time. I just got to stop thinking when I was with him. Just mindless." Ianto looked away.

"He cared about you." Owen said genuinely.

"How can you be sure?" Ianto was confused. Owen's sudden honesty... maybe it was cave fever or something.

"He cared about all of us. I mean, I shot him and he moved on. Maybe he was getting too attached. He can't die. Probably didn't want to get too comfortable with something impermanent. He might have just left because he cared too much." Owen furrowed his brow with the sudden realization.

"I think you've given him too much credit." Ianto smirked.

"Shut up. You know I'm right." Owen paused. "I shouldn't have asked you if you loved him. I already know the answer. We all loved him, in the same way. I shouldn't have thought it any different just because you... interpreted it differently." Owen stared at Ianto. Ianto smiled.

"Seems like you've actually understood me." He raised an eyebrow.

"Don't count your chickens." Owen curled up on the cave floor to sleep, drawing the conversation to a definitive close.


End file.
